As HIMYM’ returns, the lady draws near

Monday

For seven seasons, “How I Met Your Mother” co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have dropped what appeared to be tiny breadcrumbs along a path to “meeting the mother.”

For seven seasons, “How I Met Your Mother” co-creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas have dropped what appeared to be tiny breadcrumbs along a path to “meeting the mother.” With tonight’s eighth season premiere at 7 p.m. CDT on CBS, it becomes obvious those weren’t breadcrumbs at our feet; they were pieces of a much larger puzzle that, when it is finally reconstructed in the show’s final episode next season, will, indeed, be a masterpiece.

Before getting back to that larger picture, here’s tonight’s setup, which begins where season seven ended, with, in a flash forward, we see Robin is preparing to marry Barney, and Ted is the best man. Back in the present, Ted is running away with his ex-girlfriend and now-runaway bride Victoria (Ashley Williams), while Barney and his girlfriend, Quinn (Becki Newton), have just gotten engaged. Marshall and Lily, meanwhile, are a little busy with their newborn child. From there, well, you’ll just have to wait and see tonight.

But, back to that puzzle. One of the gifts of “How I Met Your Mother” has been how the show so adeptly extends what could be a throwaway plot and turns it into a running gag (e.g., slap bet). The other gift is that puzzle, which, at times, has been so annoying because you sometimes just want to know who the mother is – period.

But that’s now how the series is constructed, and I’m glad Bays and Thomas are doing it their way. They keep dropping those puzzle pieces — hints to figuring out who the mother is; we know she has a yellow umbrella, was a roommate of one of Ted’s students and will meet Ted at Barney’s and Robin’s wedding — and we keep picking them up, wanting more as we draw closer to — and anxiously await — finally seeing how Ted meets his future bride.

One last note: If you’re a loyal viewer, you’ll no doubt want to discuss tonight’s episode, so I invite you to weigh in below. Tonight holds one of those episodes that reminds fans why they love “HIMYM” — and it reminds us that we still have quite a few puzzle pieces to go.

Reviewer’s rating: **** (out of ****)

‘Partners’ is just bad

The premiere of “How I Met Your Mother” is followed by the series premiere of “Partners,” from the creators of “Will and Grace,” David Kohan and Max Mutchnick.

While “Will and Grace” was funny and you actually liked the characters, “Partners” is just plain bad. The setup is you have two lifelong friends, Joe (Michael Urie, “Numbers”) and Louis (David Krumholtz, “Ugly Betty”), who have started up an architecture firm. Louis, who is not unlike his character on “Ugly Betty,” flamboyantly gay with an abundance of energy, lives with Wyatt (Brandon Routh, “Superman Returns”) and likes to meddle with, well, everything. In the premiere episodes he meddles in Joe’s love life, as Joe contemplates popping the question to his girlfriend Ali (Sophia Bush, “One Tree Hill”).

From that setup, you get about 18 minutes of tedium. Louis will remind you of Jack on “Will and Grace,” and Ali has a bit of Karen in her character. Joe is the Will of the group (i.e., the worrier).

You can’t totally judge a sitcom by its first episode, as there have been some very good sitcoms that started out of the gate a little slow. But, with the second episodes as blah as the first, this series should be headed for cancellation — although I’m sure CBS will keep the show on way too long because it’s sandwiched between two hit shows.

Do yourself a favor; skip “Partners.” If you don’t, well, prepare to channel flip.

Reviewer’s rating: *1/2 (out of ****)

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